Death's Head #1
“Death's Head Revisited” · Marvel UK series premiere · original first printing · first appearance of Spratt
15 November 1988 on sale · December 1988 cover date · ★ Gold Star object
The first issue of Death's Head's first solo series, launched by Marvel UK in late 1988 after the character's earlier appearances across Transformers, Doctor Who Magazine and Dragon's Claws. “Death's Head Revisited” rebuilds the mechanoid mercenary after the Dragon's Claws encounter and introduces Spratt, who becomes his partner.
Read the catalogue note →- Issue
- Vol. 1 No. 1 · December 1988 cover date
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics Ltd. / Marvel UK
- State
- Raw · saddle-stitched colour comic
- Condition
- Very Good+ / Fine appearance from supplied photographs — ungraded.
- Completeness
- Apparently intact from the supplied front cover, rear cover and two interior views, but not page-by-page collated. No separate free gift or premium has been established. External page-count references conflict: Grand Comics Database indexes 28 pages while MyComicShop describes 32 pages; the discrepancy is preserved.
- Rarity
- Not formally assessed
Catalogue note
The first issue of Death's Head's first solo series, launched by Marvel UK in late 1988 after the character's earlier appearances across Transformers, Doctor Who Magazine and Dragon's Claws. “Death's Head Revisited” rebuilds the mechanoid mercenary after the Dragon's Claws encounter and introduces Spratt, who becomes his partner. The issue is a strong document of Marvel UK's late-1980s move into original US-format comics and also captures very early work by Bryan Hitch, with Simon Furman continuing the character he helped create.
Writer: Simon Furman — “Death's Head Revisited”
Artist: Bryan Hitch — pencils; Mark Farmer — inks; Nick Abadzis — colours
Cover: Bryan Hitch — pencils; Mark Farmer — inks
Edition: Original 1988 UK first printing; UK 55p / US $1.75 / CAN $2.25 cover-price edition
Why this object matters
The original Death’s Head solo launch, early Hitch work and Marvel UK US-format experiment retain Gold at 9.0. It is a major object within that specific publishing history, while the character’s earlier appearances prevent treating it as his original debut.
Evidence limits: Apparently intact from the supplied front cover, rear cover and two interior views, but not page-by-page collated. No separate free gift or premium has been established. External page-count references conflict: Grand Comics Database indexes 28 pages while MyComicShop describes 32 pages; the discrepancy is preserved.
Score and assessment method
Archive Importance: 9 / 10 · Gold Star.
This is a curatorial judgement, not a measurement accurate to one tenth or a market valuation. Read the explanation and its evidence limits together.
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